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(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 1. T. KEITH.

EMBROIDERY MACHINE. No. 369,861, Patented Sept. 13, 1887.

(NoModeL) 4 Sheets-Sheet 2. T. KEITH. EMBROIDERY MACHINE.

No. 369,861. Patented Sept. 13, 1887.

W71 asses. [mam (No Model.) T KEITH 4 Shets-Sheet s.

EMBROIDERY MAGHINE.

Patented Sept. 13, 1887 NY PETERS. PlwlmLikhngmplmr. Washingmn. o. c.

I 4 SheetST-Sheet 4. T. KEITH.

EMBROIDERY MACHINE.

(No Model.)

N0. 369,861. Patented Sept. 13, 1887.

iilnli nil N. PEYERSt PholoLlfilogmphor, washingloll. n. c.

' llniren STATES PATENT tries.

THOMAS KEITH, OF NEW YORK, N. Y..

EMBROIDERY-MACHINE.

V SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 369,861, dated September 13,1887.

Application filed June 14, 1886. Serial No. 205,059. (No modeLl T0 aZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS KEITH, of the city and county of New York, in the State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Tufting-llfachines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is, as a whole, intended for. machines for making loop-stitch embroidery or tufting by a single needle and thread, and in which thethread after being passed through the fabric in a loop is grasped by a pair of clamps as the needle leaves the goods, so as to prevent the loop from drawing out, while the thread at the next downward movement of the needle isdrawn from the spool bya thread clamp or tension on. the needle-bar. In such a machine the goods are usually clamped in a frame or between rollers and held under tension, and the entire sewing-machine is moved by hand over the goods to follow a design or pattern delineated thereon.

Certain features of the inveutionsuch, for example as the means employed for supporting and driving the machine while it is movable by hand over the goods, the means employed to balance the machine to enableit to be readily handled and controlled, and the meausfor driving the needle-bar at different speeds and stopping and starting it-may be employed in any machines where the sewing-machine proper is movable by hand or otherwise over the goods, and whatever be the character of the stitch produced.

The invention consists in novel combinations of parts,whcreby the sewing-machine is supported from a fixed hanger above the machine and its needle-bar operated from a shaft in fixed bearings in said hanger, such combinations including a column composed of telescopic tubes and universal joints arranged as hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims, whereby the machine is supported, and a telescopic shaft and other universal joints whereby power is transmitted from the drivtion also includes a novel arrangement of adjustable weights for balancing the columnsupport with its shaft and the sewing-machine when the column is inclined from the perpen easily guide and hold the sewingmachine steadily and without material eii'ort.

This invention also consists in novel combinations of parts whereby motion at a quicker or slower speed, as desired, is transmitted from the telescopic shaft to the needle-operating shaft, and whereby said needle-operating shaft may be set in motion by the movement of the handle, and is automatically stopped'when the handle is released.

The invention also consists in a novel combination,withaneedle-bar,ofamovablethreadclamp separate from and independent of the needle, and mechanism, as hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims, whereby such movable clamp is operated positively in connection with a fixed clamp,whicl1 is also separate from and independent of the needle, to clamp and release the thread without making frictionalcontact with the needle as the nee dle alternately recedes from and advances into the work, as distinguished from other machines heretofore in use in which the threadclamps are operated to clamp the thread by spring-power only and bear with frictional contact on the needle.

The invention also consists in novel combinations of parts, in the means employed for holding the goods stretched or extended, including a table or frame mounted on pivots or trunnious to swing in a vertical plane, and rollers and clamps for holding the goods; and it further consists in the combination, with such a pivoted work table or frame, of a sewing-machine having a pivoted or swiveled head, so that whatever be the position of the work in an inclined plane the needlebar will move at right angles thereto.

The invention also includes other combinations of parts and details of construction, hereinafter described,and pointed outin the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figures 1 and 2 are elevations, in planes at right angles to each other, ofa machine embodying my invention. Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation of the upper part of the machine on a larger scale. Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation of the sewingmachine proper and the lower portion of its movable supports. Fig. 5 is a face or front view of the parts shown in Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a sectional elevation, and Fig. 7 a transverse section, of portions of the telescopic column and shaft, showing the connections. between their inner and outer sections upon a larger scale. Fig. 7*.is aside elevation of a portion of the inner column-section. Fig. 8 is a plan of the needle-clamp and a thread clamp or tension carried thereby; and Fig. 9 is a horizontal section, principally on the plane of the dotted line as 00, Figs. 4 and 5.

Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures.

A designates a hanger, which may be fixed to overhead beams or other fixed support, and B designates a shaft which is supported in a stationary bearing in said hanger, and towhich motion may be conveyed by a belt running around apulley, I). From this hanger the sewing-machine proper, C, is supported so as to permit of its bodily movement in any direction, and from this shaft B the sewing-machine or the needle-operating shaft thereof has motion transmitted to it during the bodily movement of the sewing-machine.

The support for the sewing machine consists of a telescopic column comprising an outer tubular section, D, and an inner tubular sec tion, D, sliding thereinto. The outer tubular section, D, may have at the lower end a collar, D and through it and the collar extends asetscrew or pin, d, which engages a groove, d, or a correspondingslotintheinner tubular columnsection, D, thus providing for the free movementofthesectionDwithinthesectionD. This screw does not bear'at its end on the bottom of the groove, and does not, therefore, act as a set-screw, but simply as a guide to the section D. I have in Fig. 7* shown a portion of the tubular column-section D as having formed in it the groove d, which receives the point of the screw d. At its upper end the outer tube, D, of the column is connected by a universal joint with the hanger A.

As best shown in Fig. 2, the hanger A has jaws or a fork, 1), through which pass setscrews or pivot-pins b supporting a ring, b and the tube-section D of the column has a fork, d which,by means of set-screws or pivots (F, at right angles to the set-screws or pivots b is'supported from the ring b. This con- I struction provides for the swinging of the telescopic column in any direction from its upper end.

At the lower end of the telescopic column is a cylindric box or casing, O, which forms a part of the frame of the sewing-machine, and which is supported from the lower end of the inner column-tube, D, by a universal joint. Upon the frame or casing O is an upwardlyprojecting hub, c, to which is fitted a fork or yoke, c, and on the lower end of theinner column-tube, D, is a yoke or fork, c. The two yokes or forks c c are connected at right angles to each other and by set-screws or pivots c 0* with a ring, 0 thus enabling the sewingmachine to be held with its needle-bar verticalwhile moving it in different directions.

Within the frame or casing G of the ma-' chine is a rotary disk, 0 which I shall hereinafter describe, andto which motion is transmitted from the shaft B in the hanger A through a transmitting-shaft composed of an outer tube, E, and an inner tube or rod, E,

the outer tube being connected at its upper end by a universal joint with the driving-shaft B, and the innertube or rod being connected at its lower end by a similar universal joint with the shaft 0 on which is the disk G. The upper universal joint may consist of yokes or forks 0 c ,secured at right angles to each other, one to the shaft B and the other to the outer tubular section, E, and provided,respectively, with set-screws c c, engaging a body or center, 0 this universal joint being arranged within the ring N. The lower universal joint may consist of yokes or forks c 0 secured, respectively, to the inner rod, E, of the transmitting-shaft and to the disk-shaft O and provided, respectively, with setscrews c a,

- engaging acenter or body, 0*, at right angles to each other. This lower universaljoint is arranged entirely within the ring 0 of the column-joint.

As shown in Fig. 6, the tubular shaft-section E may have at its lower end a cap, 6, whereby it is strengthened, and which, by fitting with comparative snugness in the inner tube, D, of the column, guides the transmitting-shaft and holds it centrally Within the column. The cap 6 has a feather, e, engaging a groove, 6 in the inner rod-section, E, ofthe transmitting-shaft,and by means of this feather and groove the two parts E E of the transmitting-shaft are locked to turn together,-

while at the same time permitting free sliding movement of the inner rod, E, within the tubular section E of the transmitting-shaft.

The weight of the sewing-machine, together with the inner column-section, D, and the inner shaft-section, E, may be supported by springs 6 attached, as shown in Fig. 2, to a collar, 6, on the column and to the column yoke or fork c. The operator will thereby be relieved of all weight of the'parts in moving the sewing-machine to follow a pattern. It is also desirable to have the weight of the movais swung from a perpendicular position the adjustable weights c will balance the weight of the column and all the parts supported thereby.

I will now describe the'construction and mode of operation of the sewing-machine proper, which is supported at the lower end of the adjustable'column D D.

F designatee rthe needle-bar, which is fitted to guidesf in the frame or swinging head F.

As here represented, the frame portion or casing O is of cylindric form, with a vertical axis, and is divided horizontally at about the center of its height, the two parts being providedwith flanges, whereby they may be secured together by screws or bolts.

G designates the needle-operating shaft, which is fitted to bearings h. (Here shown as formed in the meeting faces of the two sections, composing a frame or casing, O.) Upon one side or the front of the frame or casing G is a flat flange-face, i, on which is secured the head or head-frame F by means of screws f. In the head-frame F are a circular series of holes, f, with any of which the screwsf may engage, and by this means of attachment provision is aft'orded'for turning the head F so that the needle-bar F will stand at an angle relatively to the axis of the box or casing O. The needle-bar F has a crank-pin yoke, F", which receives a crank-pin,f carried by a ci'anlrdi sk, G, on the end of the needle-operating shaft G. As best shown in Figs. 5 and 9, the cranlrpinf is secured in a radial slot,

f, formed in the crank-disk G, and by adjust ing said crank-pin toward and from the center of the erank-disk the throw or stroke of the needle-bar may be varied in length, as desired. The crank-pin yoke F may be prolonged and provided with an eye, f fitted to an upright guide-rod,f, in the head-frame F, and thereby the crank-pin yoke may be held in true parallel position with the face of the crank-disk. The guide-rod f may be prolonged upward, so as to receive a spool, H, and have applied to its upper end a tensionspring,f for controlling the rotation of the spool.

From the spool H the thread may be conducted through a guide-eye in the arm f on the needle-bar, thence through a thread-clamp, f", on the lower end of the needle-bar, and through the eye of the needle I. The threadclamp f may consist simply of a plate of metal secured to the needle chuck or holder f and having an oblique slot, as shown at Fig. 5, in which the thread is introduced. This clamping-plate may have its free edge curved outward slightly, as shown in Fig. 8, so as to facilitate the ready introduction of the thread into it.

As best shown in Fig. 4, the shaft'section G on which is the driving-disk O is held against longitudinal movement by a collar, it, formed by two jam-nuts secured thereon and fitting between the end of the hub c and the cap h, secured thereon.

Motion istransmitted from the disk 0 which rotates in a horizontal plane, to the needle-operating shaft G through a friction-wheel, G locked to said shaft by a feather or key engagingagroove, 2r, therein and free to slide lengthwise on the shaft in a direction toward and from the center of the friction-disk C. This disk may have a face, h, of leather, rubber, or other friction producing material, and the sliding friction-wheel G may have a frictionproducing ring or band, h of similar material sprung into a groove in its surface. \Vhen the sliding friction-wheel G is adjusted outward toward the edge of the disk 0', as is shown by dotted lines in Fig. 4, the friction-disk C will transmit a rapid motion to the needle-operating shaft G, and as said friction'wheel G is moved toward the center of the disk the speed of rotation transmitted to the shaft G will diminish. I have shown the friction face or ma terial h of the disk 0 as omitted at It around the center of the disk, and when the frictionwheel G is moved inward to this recessed portion of the disk, as shown in Fig. 4 by full lines, the shaft G will not be driven.

Secured to the frame or casing G is a divided handle or a double handle, one part, H, of which is rigidly secured to the frame or casing, and the other part, H of which is pivoted at h, and has its end portion h which enters within the frame or casing, forked and provided with projections to engage a circumferential groove, h", in the friction-wheel G for the purpose of moving it. When both handles are grasped in the hand, the handle El will be moved into coincidence or parallel with the handle H, and the sliding friction-wheel G will be moved outward toward the edge of the disk 0 as shown by dotted lines, Fig. 4, thereby driving the shaft Gat a quick speed. When the hand is removed from the handle H the sliding friction-wheel G will be drawn back to an inoperative position near the center of the disk 0 by a spring, h, and the movable handle H will be brought to the position shown in Fig. 4. Upon the shaft G, I have repre sented a hand-wheel, G by which the shaft maybe turned to set the needle by hand when desired.

For making loop-stitch embroidery, I employ a pair of clamps, one of which, j, is adjustably secured in the arm or holder J, de-

pending from the head-frame F, and the other of which,j, is adjustablysecured to an arm or holder, J, pivoted to said head frame at j. The arm J may be secured to the head-frame F by a bolt, j", providing for its adjustment to bring the bearing-face of the clamp j in proper relation to the needle; but after adjustment the bolt j is screwed up tightly to clamp the arm J against movement relatively to the head-frame F, and thereafter during the operation of the machine the clamp j re mains stationary.

The arm J,which carries the movable clamp j, has connected with it a second arm, J ex tending above the fulcrum j and provided with a cam-slot, j", receiving an actuated roller or pin, 3' on the crank-pin yoke F of the needle-bar. Consequently, as the needle-bar reciprocates upward and downward, the roller j acting in the cam-slotjfi will move the movable clamp j slightly toward and from the needle As the needle recedes from the goods.

the clamp 9" will be advanced toward the fixed clampj and will firmly grasp the thread, and

during the ascentof the needle-bar a sufficient portion of thread will be drawn from the thread-clamp f to make the next loop. At the next downward movement of the needle bar the movable clamp j will be moved away from the needle, and by the hold of the threadclamp f on the thread a sufficient portion of thread will be drawn off from the spool H to form a loop. This positively-operated threadolainp j is an important element of my invention, as by it I am enabled to grasp the thread firmly by means of clamps having smooth faces destitute of serrations or projections, and I also avoid any rubbing of the needle against the clamp, as is usual where the clamp is operated by a spring, and thereby obviate the friction and wear of the needle and clamp which result from the clamp being pressed by the spring against the reciprocating needle.

The table, frame, or work-holderwhereby the goods are supported in position to be operated on by the needle is shown in Figs. 1 and 2. This consists of a frame or table, K, having secured to it at opposite ends plates or bearers K, provided with pivots 70, which have their bearings in suitable standards, K In each standard there is a clamping-screw, 7c, and a clamp-handle, k, provided with a nut, and each plate K has in it a curved or arcsh'aped slot, receiving through it the clamping-screw It. By loosening the clampingsorews provision is afforded for swinging the table or frame K upon its pivots 7t, and by tightening the clampingscrews the table or frame may be held fixed in the horizontal or inclined position to which it .is adjusted. The.

end plates, K, may be provided with flanges k, which lap upon the under side of the frame or table K, and through which the end plates may be secured to the said frame or table.

It is advantageous to employ the pivoted or swinging table or frame for the work in connection with a sewing-machine havinga pivoted or swinging head carrying a needle-bar, because then the needle-bar may be adjusted into position at right angles to the goods while thegoods are in an inclined position, where the effect of the work can be more clearly determined.

The table or frame K may be provided with any suitable means for holding the goods stretched or extended. I have here represented two rollers, Z m, which are provided with ratchet-wheels Z m and pawls Z m, and by which the rollers may be held against turning, and the tension may be kept upon the portion of goods extended between the rollers. The goods may be stitched at the edges to flaps projecting from the rollers and then wound upon one of the rollers, the portion of goods between the rollers being held under tension and being drawn from one roller to the other periodically until the whole piece has been embroidered. In order to provide for stretching and keeping tension on the goods in a direction parallel with the axis of the rollers ha, I have represented two parts, clamps a, which are each connected by a screw, it, with the corresponding head-plate, K, and by means of nuts 12 the clamps a may be drawn away from each other to put tension on the goods.

\Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination, with a fixed hanger, a drivingshaft therein, and a movable sewingmachine, of a telescopic column connected at its top and bottom by universal joints with the hanger-and the frame of the sewing-machine, whereby the weight of the machine is sustained, and a telescopic shaft connected at the top and bottom by universal joints with the drivingshaft and the sewing-machine shaft and arranged within the columnand its joints for transmitting motion to the sewingmachine shaft, substantially as herein described.

2. The combination, with a fixed hanger, a driving-shaft therein, and a sewing-machine, of a telescopic shaft connected at the top and bottom by universal joints with the drivingshaft and with the sewing-machine shaft, and through which power is transmitted to the sewing-machine, atelescopic column connected at top and bottom by universal joints with the hanger and with the frame of the sewing-machine and surrounding the shaft and carrying the sewing-machine, and springs connecting the sections of the column and serving, by their contractile force exerted lengthwise of the column, to sustain the weight of the extensible sections of the column and shaft and the sewing-machine, substantially as herein described.

3. The combination, with a fixed hanger and a driving-shaft therein and a sewing-ma chine, of a concentric column and shaft, respectively connected at their upper ends by universal joints with the hanger and drivingshaft and respectively supporting and driving the sewing-machine, and arms attached to the universal. joints of the column and projecting upward from the universal joints at an inclination to the column and provided with adjustable balancing-weights, substantially as and for the purpose herein described.

4. The combination, with a fixed hanger, a driving-shaft therein, and a sewing-machine, of a concentric column and shaft, respectively connected at their upper ends by universal joints with the hanger and driving-shaft, and serving, respectively, to support and drive the sewing-machine, the arms 6, attached at the universaljoint of the column and extending thence upward and downward, their lower ends being secured to the column, and the balancing-weights e ,applied to the arms above the universal column-joint, substantially as herein described.

5. The combination, with the inner groo ved shaft-section, E, of the outer section, E, having applied to it the cap 0, provided with a feather or key, (2, engaging the groove in said inner section, the driving-shaft B, with which IIO the outer section is connected by a universal joint, a sewing-machine, and mechanism, substantially as described, for imparting motion from said inner shaft-section to the needleoperating shaft of said machine, substantially as herein described.

6. The combination, with the inner grooved shaft-section, E, and the inner grooved or slotted column-section, D, of the outer shaftsection, E, provided with a cap, 6, whereby it is guided in the inner column-section, and which has a key or feather fitting the grooved shaft-section E, the outer column-section, D, provided with a pin or screw engaging the groove or slot in the inner column-section, a hanger and driving-shaft with which the outer column and shaft sections are respectively connected by universal joints, a sewing-machine supported upon the inner column-section, and mechanism, substantially as descri bed,through which the needle-operating shaft of the sewing-machine is driven from the inner shaftsection, substantially as herein set forth.

7. The combination, with the needle-bar, needle-operating shaft, and frame of a sewingmachine, of supports and atransmitting shaft providing for the bodily movement of the machine, a disk having a frictionface on the transmitting-shaft and arranged to rotate in a horizontal plane, a friction-wheel sliding upon the needle-operating shaft and in frictional engagement with said disk, and means, substantially as described, for controlling the movement of the friction-wheel, substantially as herein set forth.

8. The combination, with the needle-bar, needlebperating shaft, and frame of a sewingmachine, of supports and a transmittingshaft providing for the bodily movement of the ma chine, a disk having a friction-face on the transmittingshaft, a friction-wheel sliding on the needle-operatingshaft in frictional contact with said disk, a handle whereby said wheel may be moved outward toward the periphery of the disk, and a spring for drawing said wheel to an inoperative position at or near the center of said disk, substantially as herein described.

9, The combination, with the sewing-machine needle-operating shaft G and frame 0, of the transmitting-disk O, the friction-whee1 G sliding on said shaft, the spring for moving said wheel toward the center of the disk, and the divided handle H H the portion H thereof serving to move the sewing-machine bodily and the portion H serving to move the wheel G toward the periphery of the said disk, substantially as herein described.

1.0. The combination, with a reciprocating needle-bar, of two thread clamps separate from and independent of the needle and arranged above the work table or bed, and between which the needle reciprocates, one of said clamps being movable transversely to the path of the needle, and a cam and connections whereby the movable clamp is operated positively to cause it, in connection with the other clamp, to clamp, hold, and release the thread at the proper time during the reciprocating movements of the needle and to hold the movable clamp out of contact with the needle as the latter passes between the clamps, substan tially as herein described.

11. The combination, with the needle-bar F and the pin f, carried thereby, of a fixed clamp, j, and a movable clamp, j, pivoted at j and having an arm, J with its cam-slot to receive said pin, substantially as herein described.

12. The combination, with a work table or frame mounted on pivots or trunnions to swing in a vertical plane, in order to adjust the fabric at any desired inclination to a hor zontal plane, of a sewing-machine having a pivoted or swiveled head, providing for the ad ustment of the needle-bar to positions at right angles to the inclined fabric, substantially as herein described.

18. The combination, with standards and a work table or frame pivoted thereonto swing in a vertical plane, in order to adjust the fabric at any desired inclination to a horizontal plane, of rollers on the table or frame, tO WhICh goods may be attached, and locking devices on the rollers for holding the goods under tension, and a sewing-machine having a pivoted or swiveled head, providing for the adjustment of the needle-bar to positions at right angles to the inclined fabric, substantially as herein described.

14. The combination, with the needle-operating crank and the needle-bar F, provided with a crank-pin yoke, F of the upright rod f, whereon the yoke is guided and which is prolonged upward. to receive a spool, substantially as herein described.

THOMAS KEITH.

Witnesses:

O. HALL, FREDK. HAYNES. 

